Nicolai Fechin was born in Kazan, Russia in 1881. He studied at the Kazan Art School and the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. He exhibited internationally, capturing the attention of American collectors who tried to bring him to the United States. Fechin's emigration was delayed by the 1917 Russian Revolution and he finally arrived in New York City in 1923. His family moved to Taos, New Mexico in 1927, where he developed a reputation for his vivid portraits of local people.

In 1936, Fechin brought a small group of art students with him to Mexico. During the tour, which included stops in Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Oaxaca, Fechin took photographs and made drawings. He may have based this painting on those photographs and drawings. This portrait of a flower seller shows the artist's interests in people and color. The background includes a "trajinera," a small boat used to carry goods across canals, most often found in the famous canals of Xochimilco in Mexico City.